National
BJP wins majority of Gujarat municipalities but share comes down
Ahmedabad, Feb 19 (IANS) Gujarat’s ruling BJP on Monday retained power in most of the 75 municipalities in 22 districts where polling was held last week though in line with the December 2017 assembly polls’ trend, its overall strength declined and the opposition Congress chalked up several gains.
From 59 municipalities it controlled in 2013, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won only 44 civic bodies while the Congress’ performance shot up dramatically capturing 22 nagarpalikas from six earlier.
This was largely in keeping with the electoral mood in BJP’s bastion of Gujarat ever since the assembly elections. The share of the ruling party, which had bagged 117 seats in the 182-member assembly in 2012, dipped to below 100 — at 99 seats.
This was only seven more than a simple majority of 92, while at least 15 of its legislators scraped through with margins of less than 500 votes.
Among the other local bodies, there was a tie between the Congress and the BJP on three of the municipalities, while six urban bodies went in favour of Independents and others.
The voting for the semi-urban municipalities took place on Saturday. Elections were also held for two district panchayats, 17 taluka (tehsil) panchayats and 1,423 gram panchayats, simultaneously. The villagers in 295 gram panchayats chose their ‘sarpanch’ unanimously.
This was for the first time in a decade that parties contested the local body polls on their party symbols. Though it lost several urban bodies, the consolation for the BJP is that it has retained a majority hold on the muncipalities since the early 1990s.
The takeaway for the Congress is that it has entered into double-figures in the municipalities after a much improved performance in the recent assembly elections.
The BJP won 27 of the 28 seats in Vadnagar municipality, the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the Congress being able to win only one seat.
Interestingly, the BJP had lost Assembly elections of 2017 from Vadnagar in the wake of the Patel quota stir.
Similarly, Congress has lost all the three municipalities in Mehsana district this time, also losing Kheralu and Vijapur to BJP, in the Patidar hub of north Gujarat.
In auto hub Sanand, the BJP was able to bag 20 of 24 seats, while the Congress saw its seats reducing from eight last time to four.
The Congress was in for a jolt in the Amreli district, the stronghold of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani, where the BJP snatched away three of the four municipalities from the Congress which had made a clean sweep here in 2017 assembly elections.
The woes of another senior Congress leader Arjun Modhvadia, who lost from Porbandar Assembly constituency, increased as the party lost all the three municipality polls in the area.
It lost Kutiyana and Chhaya municipalities to the BJP and Ranavav to the Nationalist Congress Party. More shocking, the son and wife of former Congress MP and Union Minister Naransinh Rathwa lost the elections in the tribal Chhota Udepur district in central Gujarat.
–IANS
desai/him/vd
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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